Ask Kate

Kate Thompson has been offering heart-felt advice and sparklingly different wedding inspiration for ten years.
She is married with two children, and often features in the national press. With her warm and caring nature and
off-beat sense of humour, she'll answer every question with knowledgable insight and understanding to help and
inspire or simply restore your peace of mind.

The Agony & The Ecstasy

Do you have a wedding dilemma? Are you looking for advice or
inspiration? Perhaps you just need an understanding ear or a
shoulder to cry on? Whatever your wedding problem may be, Ask
Kate, our resident wedding expert and agony aunt and she’ll
write back to you just as soon as she can. We want to help you
and offer you all the advice and inspiration we can.

Latest Questions

Q.Deceased Mother Of The Groom

My mother died a couple of years ago, and when my sister got married a few months later, my mother’s sister took my mother’s place in the wedding party. I am not comfortable with this happening at my wedding and wondered whether there is any etiquette I should follow. I’ve been considering leaving an empty space on the top table in consideration of my mother and wondered if this was appropriate.

A close friend who I dearly want at my wedding has a baby who will be 18 months when we get married. It’s only a small wedding and I don’t really want to have any children there. How do I tell my friend to leave her child at home without offending her?

I know that on the top table our parents are supposed to be split up so that my dad sits next to my fiancés mum and vice versa. Do we need to stick to this or can my parents sit together? I know how much my dad would prefer to have my mum the other side of him, mostly as he really is very nervous about his speech!

I’m getting married next November and would like to have my colour scheme at least sorted in my head so I have a starting point. People have suggested autumnal colours but I can only think of orange. Do you have other colour suggestions?